Epilogue
Gameplay Development Epilogue/Prologue project leader S had previously worked on game related projects such as Wolf's Howl and The Scene. Epilogue development started on July 10, 2009 while discussing the idea with Moz whom had urged S to start yet another server project. With pen and paper in hand, S was inspired to create Epilogue by several other role-playing projects, including Asha's Tear and Wolf's Howl. He was still working out the basics of what the game-play would be when Faith joined the development team. The team joined the emulation scene without any previous experience of how a private server works. Heavily demoralized by the lack of stability and community, Moz left the team. Shortly thereafter S decided to start writing web-based diaries in order to generate hype. This went better than expected as followers started to pour in. After a recruitment post on MMOwned S found Dynashock whom then became the main coder of the project. Dynashock introduced Claiver whom was hired to make the new official website for Epilogue. Not long after his arrival, Claiver decided to join the team permanently which greatly helped the development. Closed beta was released The Crisis The reception of closed beta did not went according to plan. S states "We had been too absorbed with all our mechanics and features that we forgot the actual world and foundation of a server. Scripts and codes are nothing without a community and storylines, it was too late to ret-con, we had to push through" The team was demoralized by the work ahead which caused a negative ripple effect and resulted in Faith leaving the team, followed by Dynashock and key positioned community staff. Claiver did not have the expertise to work on actual server content which left S alone. "I was equally tired as my friends, and when the domino effect started I could not see any light for the project to survive. I had to dig in my deepest pockets to find hope, I saw the potential of Epilogue, but I did not have the tools." - S '' S kept the crisis hidden to the community and kept working normally. Events and storylines became the main focus in order to save interest from the community. Epilogue had a solid but unpolished case of unique mechanics and scripts which kept the server alive during the crisis. Dynashock eventually returned to the team which put the crisis to rest. The success S, Dynashock and Claiver became the main figures of Epilogue's success. Combining the elements of role-play with intelligently designed scripts they succeeded to create a private role-playing server with never seen before standards. ''"It was crazy, suddenly the whole emulation community knew who we were, and next thing I know, BBC calls me on the phone. I cannot stress how much Dynashock and Claiver contributed to this" - S Epilogue had over 9000 accounts registered, with a ever-growing staff and community and was featured in a BBC Articlehttp://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8393770.stm. Shutdown Not long after going live, S received a 1-year job contract abroad the country. He left the project in the hands of Dynashock whom had not expected such a responsibility. After two months of struggle, Dynashock and S mutually agreed on shutting Epilogue down. "I could see where Epilogue was going. It could have grown huge but it was now slowly falling apart due to lack of time and organization. I'd rather quit on a peak than slowly rot away, I sent the text to Dynashock and told him to pull the plug. Epilogue will remain as a good memory for many of us." - S The follow-up project "Prologue" began development in 14 January 2010 Reception